Upheld: ISA transfer mishandling and inadequate complaint response complaint against National Westminster Bank PLC (NatWest)
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6337584 of 2026-06-03T00:00:00+00:00. ISA transfer mishandling and inadequate complaint response complaint against National Westminster Bank PLC (NatWest). Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6337584 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-03T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | National Westminster Bank PLC (NatWest) |
| Product | savings - Individual Savings Account (ISA) |
| Claim type | ISA transfer mishandling and inadequate complaint response |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | NatWest to pay total compensation of £250: £100 for failure to provide timely response to complaint, and £150 for distress and inconvenience caused during the period when Mr H was uncertain about the location of his £38,000 transfer (24 December 2025 to 8 January 2026). |
Summary
Mr H complained that NatWest mishandled his transfer of £38,000 from another ISA provider to a NatWest cash ISA in November 2025, resulting in lost interest and stress. The transfer process was delayed due to a combination of NatWest's unavailable online form (requiring a manual form instead), Mr H's mistakes on the manual forms, and his former provider's inability to process a partial transfer. After Mr H confirmed on 24 December 2025 that the transfer could proceed, funds were not credited until 8 January 2026 (15 days later), during which NatWest could not track the money. NatWest also failed to respond to Mr H's complaint within required timeframes. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered £250 compensation: £100 for the complaint handling failure and £150 for distress during the period of fund location uncertainty.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that while NatWest's online form unavailability was an inconvenience rather than a fundamental failure, Mr H's own mistakes on the manual forms contributed significantly to delays. However, NatWest was responsible for the 15-day delay in funds arriving after 24 December 2025 and the resulting uncertainty about fund location, which caused distress. The ombudsman also found NatWest failed to respond to the complaint within required timeframes. The ombudsman rejected Mr H's claim for lost interest before 24 December as NatWest was not responsible for delays up to that point, but upheld the complaint regarding the post-24 December period and complaint handling failures.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| National Westminster Bank PLC (NatWest), all decisions | 5 | 40% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website